It's one of several BYD vehicles, including more conventional gasoline cars, that the Chinese company offers in one of its first New World beachheads.

The BYD Costa Rica Facebook page has the photo above, dated November 7 and apparently taken in its San Jose showroom--along with quite a lot about the rest of the lineup and various complimentary comments from Costa Rican BYD owners.

Latest plug-in hybrid

The Qin itself (pronounced "chin") is based on BYD's aging F3 compact sedan. Remarkably similar to a previous generation of Toyota Corolla, the F3 was China's best-selling car in past years.

The Qin follows BYD's first plug-in hybrid, the F3DM, but employs a new "Dual Mode II" hybrid system whose 10-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack is said to give a 30-mile (50-km) range in pure electric mode.

Its 1.5-liter engine is turbocharged, and the total power of the combined system in hybrid mode--including the 110-kilowatt (148-horsepower) electric motor--is quoted at 300 hp (223 kW) and 325 lb-ft of torque.

At its Beijing launch, BYD said the Qin can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.9 seconds, with a top speed of 115 mph (185 km/h).